Apparatus for constructing lines of excavation.



No. 655,532. I Y Patented Aug. 7, I900. W. DE H. WASHINGTON.

APPARATUS FOR GONSTRUGTING LINES 0F EXCAVATION.

(Np Modei.)

Zin /p557; 41- 37% NrTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

XVILLIAM DE HERTBURNE WASHINGTON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y;

APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTING LlNES OF EXCAVATION.

srncrnrcarron forming part of Letters Patent No. 655,532, dated August'7, 1900.

Application filed January 23,1900. Serial No. 2,536. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM DE HERT- BURNE WASHINGTON, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at New York, in the borough of Manhattan andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inApparatus for Constructing Lines of Excavation; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact de scription of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for constructing linesof excavation, especially where it is proposed to build foundation-wallsfor buildings, side walls, subways, or shallow tunnels and where it isproposed to make the minimum excavation necessary to build the Wall orplace the masonry.

My apparatus consists of a plurality of lines of sheet-piling madeeither of wood or metal, as may be preferred, and preferably made insections, each section being in the form of a box with the top andbottom open and the two adjoining sections being provided with tonguesor other projections to engage in corresponding grooves of the adjoiningsection, whereby two continuous parallel lines of sheet-piling aresecured. The ends of each box are preferably closed, although this isnot always necessary, and the opposite sides of the box are braced byfixed or removable braces, while detachable shelves are mounted on eachside of the box, on which the material dug out from the box is placed.Also artificial weights may be added, and this tends to force the boxdownward as the excavation is made. Where the excavation is deep, two ormore tiers of sheet-piling may be placed one on top of the other; but ineither case the bottom edge of the sheet-piling should be sharpened tocut into the earth.

My invention will be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which the same parts are indicated by the same lettersthroughout the several views.

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of parts of two of the boxesforming two parallel lines of sheet-piling and shows the shelf on oneside only, the opposite shelf being omitted forthe sake of clearnes's inthe draw ings. In the device shown in Fig. 1 three tiers of superimposedboxes are shown. Fig, 2 represents parts of two of the lower tier ofboxes shown in Fig. 1 on a larger scale and parts being broken away.Fig. 3'is an enlarged detail view showing the means for making a tightjoint where the two boxes abutr Fig. 4 represents a form of spreaderadapted for separating the sheet-piling so that the braces may beremoved, and the boxes may be withdrawn after the excavation has beencompleted.

A represents one of the boxes, having the bottom of each of the pilessharpened, as at a, while the ends of the box are closed, as at B. Theside walls of the box are braced by the sliding braces O, and the pilesareheld in place against upward pressure by means of the stringers E andbolts 6. Each end of one of the boxes is provided with a tongue aadapted to project into the groove between the strip a fast to thetongue a on the opposite box, as seen in Fig. 3. The shelves F, one oneach side of the box, are detachably secured thereto, as by means of thebrackets H and metal straps G, and on these shelves the material fromthe excavation is piled. As each tier of boxes is lowered the shelvesare removed and a fresh tier put on and the shelves put back in place.In ordinary practice, however, only a single tier of boxes will besufficient; but I have shown the invention as applied to a deepexcavation.

As the earth is dug out from the inside of the box and piled' on theshelves the sharp cutting edges of the piles will work downward, keepingalways slightly in advance of the actual work of excavation until somesolid obstruction is encountered. If this solid ob struction be a smallrock, by drawing out a suitable number of the bolts (2 and allowing asuitable number of the piles to remain stationary while the rest of thebox goes down the rock may be excavated around and removed, and thesepiles so released may be driven down by hand and the bolts 6 reinserted,or if a large rock be encountered these ward, the rest of the boxcontinuing its downward travel until the bottom of the excavation isreached. Then the masonry is filled in and connected with the wall inthe preceding way, thus forming a continuous Wall. Then the parts of thebox projecting above the earth may be sawed'oft, or the entire box maybe removed and used over again, and so on.

In order to remove the box or facilitate the downward travel of the box,it will ordinarily be necessary to'loosen the skin friction of theadjoining earth,and this may be accomplished by means of asuitablespreader, such as shown in Fig. 4, where L represents a right-and-leftscrew working in the nuts K, connected to the toggles K, which carry attheir ends the shoes I, the whole forming a toggle-brake, and byscrewing these nuts toward each other, as indicated by the dotted linesin Fig. 4, the sides of the box may be spread out, packing the dirttight. 'When so spread, the braces C, traveling between the guides D,may be withdrawn, andthen when the spreader is eased up the sides of thebox will spring in, skin friction will be relieved, and the box may bedrawn up bodily. By driving in these boxes one after the other andlapping the ends of the same two parallel lines of sheetpiling may besimultaneously driven and the same boxes may be used over and overagain, if desired.

My invention is especially applicable to sandy soils where rocks,stumps, and other obstructions do not occur; but, as hereinbeforedescribed, it is applicable wherever the ordinary sheet-piling may beused, and it is so arranged that these obstructions will not prevent theoperation of the apparatus.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is-- 1. In an apparatus for usein excavating, a box with closed sides and ends and open top and bottomwith sharpened edges at the bottom, bracing between the sides of saidbox, and detachable shelves mounted on the top of said box,substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for use in excavating, a box having its sides formedof two lines of sheet-piling with stringers running along the sidesthereof and bolts detachably securing said piles to said stringers,braces mounted between the sides of said box, and shelves detachablymounted on the side of said box, substantially as described.

v 3. An apparatus for use in excavating comprising a plurality of boxesunited to each other at their ends and forming two lines of continuouspiling, braces mounted between the sides of said boxes, and shelvesdetachably mounted on the sides of said boxes, substantially asdescribed.

4. An apparatus for use in excavating comprising a plurality of boxesunited to each scribed.

6. An apparatus for use in excavating comprising a plurality of tiers ofboxes whose sides form continuous sheet-piling with the bottom of thelower tier of boxes sharpened, sliding braces separating the sides ofsaid boxes, and detachable shelves mounted on the top of the upper tierof boxes, substantially as described.

'7. In an apparatus for use in'excavatin g, a box with closed sides andends and open top and bottom with sharpened edges at the bottom, bracingbetween the sides of said box, and detachable shelves mounted on the topof said box, and means for temporarily spreading the sides of said boxesfrom within, substantially as described.

8. In an apparatus for use in excavating, a box having its sides formedof two lines of sheet-piling with stringers running along the sidesthereof and bolts detachably securing said piles to said stringers,braces mounted between the sides of said box, shelves detachably mountedon the side of said box, and means for temporarily spreading the sidesof said boxes from within, substantially v as described.

9. In an apparatus for use in excavating, a box having its sidesadjustable vertically with respect to the box, weights supported on thesides of said box, and means for temporarily spreading the sides of saidboxesfrom within, substantially as described.

10. An apparatus for use in excavating comprising a plurality of boxesunited to each other at their ends and forming two lines of continuouspiling, braces mounted between the sides of said boxes, shelvesdetachably n5 mounted on the sides of said boxes, and means fortemporarily spreading the sides of said boxes from within, substantiallyas de-- scribed.

11. An apparatus for use in excavating com- 1 20 prising a plurality oftiers of boxes whose sides form continuous sheet-piling with the bottomof the lower tier of boxes sharpened, braces separating the sides ofsaid boxes, detachable shelves mounted on the top of the I25 upper tierof boxes, and means for temporarily spreading the sides of said boxesfrom within, substantially as described.

12. An apparatusforuseinexcavatin'gcomprising a plurality of tiers ofboxes whose :30

sides form continuous sheet-piling with the bottom of the lower tier ofboxes sharpened,

sliding braces separating the sides of said boxes, detachable shelvesmounted on the 5 top of the upper tier of boxes, and means fortemporarily spreading the sides of said boxes from Within, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM DE HERTBURNE WASHINGTON.

Witnesses:

B. R. KELLY, J ULIAN E. INGLE, J r,

